Ms. Palin is becoming increasingly vocal and visible, with a series of events scheduled this weekend: delivering a paid speech to the Salina, Kan., Chamber of Commerce on Friday night, headlining a national Tea Party convention in Nashville on Saturday and appearing on behalf of the re-election campaign of Gov. Rick Perry of Texas in Houston on Sunday.

This latest foray "Outside" (Alaskan slang for the rest of the country) culminates a week in which she achieved a typical run of multimedia ubiquity from Wasilla: She e-mailed a high-profile endorsement of Dr. Rand Paul in a Republican Senate primary in Kentucky. She called -- via Facebook -- for the resignation of the White House chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, for using the term "retarded," and announced -- via a column in USA Today -- that she would attend a Tea Party gathering next month in Searchlight, Nev., the hometown of the Senate Democratic leader, Harry Reid.

Her growing cast of advisers and support system could be working in the service of any number of goals: a presidential run, a de facto role as the leader of the Tea Party movement, a lucrative career as a roving media entity -- or all of the above. Ms. Palin represents a new breed of unelected public figures operating in an environment in which politics, news media and celebrity are fused as never before. Whether she ever runs for anything else, Ms. Palin has already achieved a status that has become an end in itself: access to an electronic bully pulpit, a staff to guide her, an enormous income and none of the bother or accountability of having to govern or campaign for office.

...

Ms. Palin has also enlisted a small team of policy counselors to guide her through the substantive areas in which many deemed her to be lacking in 2008. Randy Scheunemann, a foreign policy adviser to Mr. McCain who also clashed with the campaign leadership, got $30,000 from Ms. Palin's PAC in the second half of 2009. He helped write a speech for Ms. Palin in Hong Kong last September and also contributes to a daily briefing prepared by Kim Daniels, a Maryland lawyer who did legal work in Alaska for the McCain campaign. (She is now advising Ms. Palin on domestic policy issues and received $21,000 from SarahPAC in the second half of 2009.)

People with knowledge of the daily briefings say they are conducted by phone or e-mail. They typically include information on the day's news, material that could be relevant to an upcoming speech, or guidance about a candidate Ms. Palin might endorse. Mr. Scheunemann in particular is known as a conservative hawk on foreign affairs, in keeping with what many Palin-watchers have viewed as her steady shift to the right.

In other words, Liebovich is seeing the machinations of political maturity, a woman of substance who's not just learning the ropes but fashioning them into a noose to perhaps hang those that underestimate her... like Robert at Work in Progress who reacts to Palin's speech before the Tea party conventioneers with this:

The first question that comes to mind is how many empties of moonshine does one have to return to accumulate $1,100?

I wasn't even aware they had recycling projects in the banjo-pickin', cousin-marryin', less learnin'-more earnin' areas of the country from which Mrs. Palin supporters hail.

While I suppose we should all take comfort the $1,100 spent on the conference admission will reduce attendees' ammo budget for the next few months, liberals are not the only ones who should be terrified by the idea of President Palin. All bipeds without feathers should be terrified of the notion of that arrogant know-nothing with access to the nuclear codes.

Nothing would ensure the reelection of President Obama than running against Mrs. Palin as the GOP candidate which is why it will never happen. But we can dream...

Let's ignore the fact that Robert can't seem to correctly reference the story he cites as to the convention's admission price (it was $349 and not $1,100). Let's instead hope that he and other liberals continue to make light not only of Palin's abilities but of those who find her striking a chord.

It will make this November (and November in 2012) that much sweeter.

By the way, I left the following at Robert's place but expect it to disappear within minutes... perhaps some of you can stop by and gently chide the man for his lapses:

Say Robert...

Re-read the story you've cited and get your numbers straight... 1,100 paid $349 to get into the convention... twice you mention an $1,100 admission price... I'm thinking you need a teleprompter...

"In other words, Liebovich is seeing the machinations of political maturity, a woman of substance who's not just learning the ropes but fashioning them into a noose to perhaps hang those that underestimate her.."

Maturity? Underestimate?? Hng who? The woman of "substance" mocks the use of a teleprompter but cannot remember her core principles without using her tele-hand to remind her of what she fervently believes in.

Crib notes for the woman of substance. How rich is that? She needs to stop schooling others and start schooling herself.

I'm curious, cons, how many more examples of her incompetence do we have to show before you all stop fawning over her?

I know she scares the hell out of you liberals, but you don't need to broadcast it so blatantly.

Don't you wish Obama could sit on a stage and answer questions in a coherent manner, with or without a couple of notes? In fact wouldn't you like to see him conduct a committee meeting for a dozen people without TOTUS? Maybe show up at an elementary school without dragging TOTUS behind him?

Sarah just laughed this morning when Chris Wallace asked if she was bothered by all of the crap thrown at her. All you and your kind have done is make the lady very tough. Eat your heart out as she takes everything that comes her way and keeps smiling and bringing her message. Try not to puke your guts as you realize that a hell of a lot of people hear and agree with her message. November 2010 is coming, and it cannot get here too soon.

Still thinking you can make Obama look intelligent by tearing down any competition, indie? (Or is that your 'smarter twin' Indiec?)

It's too late for the 'progressive' crowd, you gullible sap - Obama's 'performance' this last year has totally fucked over any pretensions the left has as far as competence on any scale goes - from foreign affars to health care to even balancing the budget. He had it all laid out on a silver platter, had majorities in both the House and Senate - and STILL couldn't lead. The 'progressives' seem to think they've still got a winning hand, all they've got to do is double down and they'll win big.

But it's too late.

The voters are fed up - they tried to get the Senators to listen last year, but those Senators were just too smart to listen to the people who actually VOTED them into office.

You really don't have a clue as to what's going on, do you? Brown's election was a big clue, and at least SOME are paying attention.

The people of Massachusetts told all of Washington they had enough of back-room deals, uncontrolled spending, ignoring and even ridiculing citizens when they protest to show their displeasure. They have had enough of the elitist and condescending attitude coming from elected officials. They want to be respected and heard when they speak. They want our money to be treated as real, not "Monopoly" money that means nothing. They will support health care reform that addresses the issues that need fixing, not replacement of the existing system.

They are very sick of the lying and spin out of the mouths of Washington's elected officials. People want the truth.

Obama promised an end to 'Business as Usual' inside the Beltway. Who could have imagined he'd replace it with something WORSE?

But keep on trying to convince people otherwise, 'Indie'. One of the qualities of a really good, gullible mark is that he'll believe the con man unquestioningly, even after the grifter's been arrested by the cops. He's so taken in by the con that evidence of how he was ripped off can be laid in front of him, and he won't believe it.

Obama's the ultimate con artist. He persuaded millions of people he actually had what it took to be President, when he'd never run anything more complex than a classroom - and there's pretty much no evidence he ever did THAT successfully.

It's too funny. In the late summer of 2008 when candidate John McCain announced his curious choice of a running mate, I immediately ran to the computer to do a google-search of the name, "Sarah Palin". I knew next-to-nothing about the woman other than the fact that she was the governor of Alaska. The first thing in her paper-thin biography that stood out for me was the date of her birth: February 11, 1964. I remember that day - distinctly! That was the day my beloved grandma, Loretta Doran Clements, died in South Bend, Indiana at the age of sixty-eight.

But other than that interesting coincidence there was not a heck of a lot in her biography that really stood out. Truth be told, I was more than a little puzzled as to why the GOP would think her an asset to the ticket. The moment she opened her mouth at her first campaign stop in Dayton, Ohio, I could only think of one thing:

Sally Field as "Gidget".

When someone like Sarah Palin can make it as far as she has, it can mean only one thing and it's not a particularly good sign: we are living in a culture that has been custom-tailored for idiots. When a person who can barely put two coherent sentences together without the aid of a teleprompter becomes one of the best-selling non-fiction authors of the decade, that's usually a pretty good indicator that society is spiraling downward at a fairly decent clip. Fasten your seat belts, kiddies!

I had always believed that Monty Python alumni Michael Palin was the funniest person in the world to bear that name. In fact it should be stated for the record that the two Palins are equally funny. The only difference is that Michael works very hard at it. Sarah's funniness, on the other hand, is purely accidental. The woman is a scream; the Buster Keaton of unintentional comedy

Tom D ...
"When a person who can barely put two coherent sentences together without the aid of a teleprompter becomes one of the best-selling non-fiction authors of the decade, that's usually a pretty good indicator that society is spiraling downward at a fairly decent clip."

So you think Obama is an idiot ? just to clarify ...

Your belief that public speaking and writing a best seller are the same skills is pure nonsense ...

fyi, your name already has a link to your website, no need to put it in your comment ...

If you watched Palin she read her speech off the podium teleprompter -- she did not turn any pages during a 45-minute speech, and spent a good portion of her time reading word-for-word from the surface of the podium.

The venue established that it provides a state-of-the-art comm system -- including a fully wired flat screen teleprompter embedded in the podium.

As for her Wasillabilly palm pilot hat cracks me up is how she actually crossed out one of the items written on her hand.

She has had a year to prepare to answer about her core beliefs -- yet moments before she went on stage -- did not have a firm grasp of her answers, thus the crib notes. It goes to depth of intellect, not to mention character -- a Q & A session is supposed to be off-the-cuff -- and she was given the questions, and had the answers prepared in advance.

Of course no one here wants mention that Obama spoke for one hour to Republicans, answering questions on every subject and issue they could throw at him. He answered right off the top of his head, knowledgeably and in depth, with details, figures, facts and insight. He blew the Republicans away and he didn't have one piece of paper in front of him or notes on his hand. He didn't ask them to submit their questions beforehand either.

Sarah's entire speech can be summed up as a broadside attack on the Obama administration. Yet she has the gall to talk about the need for stability and constructive debate.

What an embarrassment to this country this woman is... The conservatives are looking like a bunch of backward buffoons... can somebody save us already???

I gotta tell ya. Mention "Palin" and the trolls get all whacky. They can't see the Obama forest for the Palin trees. Obama renegs on a different promise just about every week, talks out both sides of his mouth regularly, bows to anyone but our strongest allies, blames anyone and everyone else for anything as he is loathe to accept any responsibility himself. The list is endless. And they think WE should be embarrassed?

Wow, this Robert at Work must be a real role model for the dumborats!! " ... banjo pickin', cousin marryin", more earnin, less learnin'.." in reference to Palin supporters? Maybe he is just referring to TEA Party members??

tom, stevie, brian and degan must have one hand on a woody while e-mailing their love and adoration to this jerk off pivot (not necessarily their own).

The conceit, arrogance, disdain, disrespectfullness vomited by these so called "democratic leaders and speakers" to anyone not towing their party line is beyond belief. Rude, crude, criminal and socially unacceptable would be a good rallying cry for their party.

Having lived in Alaska for 10 years, I would pay money to see one of these loudmouthed butt wipes enter a public gathering and run off at the mouth about Sarah Palin. The last time I knew of when some undesireable elements tried to assert themselves, their vehicles were trashed and they were shipped back to the lower 48 on a barge. They pretty much take care of their own problems up there, something I wish would catch on down here.

Re: "Of course no one here wants mention that Obama spoke for one hour to Republicans.. He blew the Republicans away and he didn't have one piece of paper in front of him or notes on his hand."

This is such bullshit, it's amazing.

Let's look at some questions:
________________________________________________
Mr. President, will you consider supporting across-the-board tax relief, as President Kennedy did?

So my question is, why not start freezing spending now, and would you support a line-item veto in helping us get a vote on it in the House?

So I'm asking you if you would be willing to re-look at some of these policies [energy policies affecting Virginia]

But my specific question is, what should we tell our constituents who know that Republicans have offered positive solutions to the challenges that Americans face and yet continue to hear out of the administration that we've offered nothing?

And on the job creation piece in particular, you mentioned Colombia, you mentioned Panama, you mentioned South Korea. Are you willing to work with us, for example, to make sure those FTAs get called, that's no-cost job creation?
_______________________________________________

Well, Hell, I'd hope someone wouldn't need a piece of paper helping him answer questions that start with: Will you consider, would you support, are you willing, etc.

Face it, Obama has been reading his teleprompter as president for more than a year. I'd hope some of what he's read would sink in.